Ched grinned in that
eerie, skeletal way of his. “Whatcha want, sharge?”

Dodger looked past
the driver and the PAUL, making sure Sarah was out of earshot. She sat on the
folded out steps of the meeting cab, waiting for Dodger to get done setting
Boon free of the cargo cab.

He lowered his voice
and said, “Can you help me make sure everyone keeps Sarah from knowing we have
Kitty here? I mean, she knows we have someone, but I don’t think she knows
exactly who, and I would like to keep it that way.”

Ched saluted Dodger
as means of accepting his orders. Boon nodded, the PAUL’s head dipping down and
up in a show of solidarity.

“Thanks,” Dodger
said. “Ched, you go and keep an eye on our guest. Boon, I need you to help
Torque fill out this list.” Dodger passed off the paper to the PAUL, then left
the pair to their work. He took the young and oblivious Sarah back to the
circus to find something for lunch before the experiment began.

To Dodger and
Sarah’s surprise, Feng had commandeered the circus kitchen, and already cooked
up a feast for the entire double crew. Dodger gobbled down his portion with
undisclosed glee, as did everyone else. The mystic ended up being the toast of
the afternoon, with everyone agreeing he was the king of the kitchen. This
upset the existing circus chef, until Feng promised to teach the man his own
secrets.

Once everyone had
their fill, Torque brought around the Rhino with the few things the doc
required—a long box with no label, one of the doc’s tool kits, his medicine bag
and a tank of water. Boon arrived as well, drawing a number of ohhs and ahhs
from the excited circus crew. The
elephant stood to the same height as the PAUL, leaving Dodger to wonder just
what the professor had in mind.

“I suppose we have
everything we need,” the doc said, carting a load of rolled up parchments to
the Rhino and tossing them in the back. “Mr. Williams returned with the perfect
spot and everyone else is ready. Shall we disembark?”

“I reckon so,”
Dodger said.

The doc, Torque,
Henry and Duncan climbed into the Rhino as Brian mounted the elephant. Boon set
out, leading the group in the direction Duncan instructed. The elephant
followed, in her slow shuffle. Dodger supposed the pace pleased the doc,
considering the man hated to take the Rhino above five miles an hour. This
meant it would take them about an hour or so to reach a spot far enough from
the camp. A long ride, but bearable thanks to the company.

“Aren’t you coming?”
Dodger said to Feng.

“Oh, no,” Feng said,
who stood by Bigby, watching the group get ready to go. “I should sit this one
out. Too many variables for the likes of me, if you get my meaning.”

Dodger didn’t
really, but he nodded all the same. “Will you be all right without the device?”

“I should have
enough time to last a few hours. Just get back as soon as you can.”

“Here,” Sara said
over him. “I know. Stay here. Be quiet. Sit down. Do as I say, not as I do.”
She stuck out her lower lip and balled her little fists. “I never get to have
any fun.”

Dodger’s heart went
out to her.

Apparently, so did
the doc’s. “If you promise to stay in the Rhino, you may accompany me as my
guest.”

“Really?” Sarah
said.

“Yes. Now promise
me.” The doc patted the seat beside him in the Rhino.

“I will! I promise!”
Sarah climbed into the vehicle next to the doc and bounced up and down on the
bench.

“Doc?” Dodger said.
“Do you think this is a good idea?”

“No,” the doc said.
“But I have had worse ideas. Now, enough stalling. Let’s get on with this.”

With a groan, Dodger
set to pedaling, steering the Rhino around the elephant and falling in place
next to the giant PAUL. Boon waved at the vehicle, to which Sarah and the doc
waved back. If it weren’t for the mechanical man, or the elephant trailing
them, or the oddity of the crew, then one might think of this as a pleasant afternoon
ride. And hell, why couldn’t it be that as well? After all, no one deserved a
pleasant afternoon ride more than the doc himself. This thought comforted
Dodger as he pedaled onward.

“Here, Sarah,” the
doc said, passing Henry’s time traverse box to the child. “Hold this for me. I
need to work on it a bit.”

Sarah took the box
with glee, and asked all sorts of questions as the doc began his work with the
thing. The ride ended up taking a little over an hour, long enough for the doc
to finish his tinkering on the device. It was also an hour of Henry describing
his Jenny. A set of motionless wings, a screw propeller system, and something
called a diesel engine made up the bulk of the unbelievable craft. Dodger had a
hard time believing something like that could fly, but he also knew from his
time with the doc that nothing was impossible.

Dodger stopped the
Rhino at the edge of a lovely meadow, about a good three miles or so east from
the camp behind them. Everyone piled out of the vehicle just as the elephant
arrived, lumbering into the meadow, trunk feeling around, seeking someone to
hug no doubt. Brian slowed her down with a few words, and the others gathered
around the doc for instructions.

“This should be
exceedingly simple,” the doc said. “I have altered the makeup of this half of
the device, which should attract the other half when activated. That is the
theory at least.”

“If it’s that
simple,” Henry said, “why the need for them?” The young man motioned to PAUL
and Baby.

“Because I hope your
Jenny will return at rest, as when she disappeared on you, but I worry she will
return in full flight, just as she was sucked into the time loop to begin with.
I asked for Boon and Baby to accompany us as weight. Torque, the net please.”

“Yes, sir,” Torque
said. The mechanical man fetched the long box from the Rhino, opening it to
reveal a familiar object.

“Is that the net you
caught Lei Gong with?” Dodger said.

“The same,” the doc
said. “I surmise if this net is strong enough to catch and dampen a high
powered weather demon, then an aircraft full of lightning shouldn’t be a
problem.”

Dodger couldn’t
agree more. “That’s very clever, sir.”

“I thought so as
well. I also had Torque remove one of the LADs from the Sleipnir, to attract
the lightning away from the net.”

The doc laid out his
plan, which consisted of the elephant and Boon acting as deadweights on one end
of the field with the net stretched between them, with the LAD driven into the
ground between them to attract the bulk of the expected lightning. Dodger was
to activate his half of the device from the other end of the field. Henry was
to stand in the middle, acting as a different kind of lightning rod, one for
the oncoming rush of time. According to the doc, the Jenny should materialize
near Henry and head toward the net and hopefully stop there.

“I hate to be the
bearer of bad news,” Brian said from his perch on the elephant’s back, “but
Baby won’t like this. She’ll run at the first sign of lightning.”

“It’s true,” Henry
said. “She hates thunderstorms.”

“Oh dear,” the doc
said. “I worried as much. Well, I suggest we use that collar for its intended
purpose until we are done.”

Brian furrowed his
brow and looked down at the still attached collar. “You mean this thing those
dog men were using on her? No way. I won’t let you.”

“It’s perfectly
harmless when used in temporary doses. We will remove it once we are finished. As
for the lightning from the craft, as long as you hold the handles of the net
properly everything should be safe. The LAD will wick away the majority of the
electricity and neither you, Baby or Boon will be in any danger. On the other
hand, if we don’t get the rest of the device off of that aircraft, young Henry
here will suffer a much worse fate.”

“I don’t want her
hurt. But I don’t want Henry hurt either.”

Baby reached back
and patted the man on the head with her trunk, nuzzling him gingerly. It was as
if the elephant understood the pressing need, and was giving her okay.

“You promise this
collar thing won’t hurt her?” he said.

“I can assure you of
that,” the doc said. “If you just remove the disruptor, she will take commands
from the first person to speak to her. Make your commands simple and clear.
Understood?”

“Simple and clear.”

The doc motioned for
everyone to move back. “Stand back, she might suffer a bit of confusion during
the transition.”

Everyone took a few
steps back as Brian walked the elephant further into the field. When he was a
good distance from the others, he pulled the small disruptor from her left ear,
where Duncan had placed it, then waited. Thankfully, the elephant didn’t go
into the same rampage as before. Instead, she stopped all movement, standing
stone still, as if awaiting his command. The doc waved his hands, encouraging
the man to say something.

“Walk forward!”
Brian shouted.

Baby complied,
taking a few steps forward until Brian commanded her to stop.

“Excellent,” the doc
said.

“What can I do?”
Duncan said.

“You have the most
important job,” the doc said. “If all goes well, I will need you to get the
second half of the device from the Jenny before it disappears again. I suspect
your sizing will come in handy. As will these.” The doc handed Duncan a pair of
long, black rubbery gloves.

Duncan took the
gloves with a smirk. “What are these?”

“Shock proof gloves.
You will have to actually reach into the net to remove the device, so you need
extra protection.”

“So I put these on
and just get the thing off of the, um, Jenny?”

“Yes. Get it off and
away. A dozen yards or so should be plenty of distance to disrupt the
connection.” The doc unrolled one of the parchments he brought along, revealing
a drawing of Henry’s aircraft named Jenny. “Here is the craft, and here is
where the device should be. On the right wing. Get it off and get away. Don’t
worry about the aircraft, it can be repaired.”

“Hey, that’s my
plane you’re talking about,” Henry said.

“Which I can fix,”
the doc said. “But not if we don’t stabilize it in this time line. That’s where
you come in, James. Just get that device of off the aircraft any way you can.”

“I can do that,”
Duncan said. He activated his belt as he crossed the field toward the elephant,
growing to an equal size as the PAUL in preparation. The three giants joined
one another, spreading the net between them as Torque drove the LAD into the
ground beneath them.

“Wider!” Henry
shouted. “Her wingspan is forty three feet.”

“Wider it is,” Brian
said and moved Baby further out to spread the net.

“Dodger,” the doc
said, “take the device to that end of the field.” He passed the box off to
Dodger.

“Yes, sir,” Dodger
said. “How do I work it?”

“I’ve included a
switch at the bottom there. Just flip the switch and the device will do the
rest. I hate to ask you to do this, but should something go wrong, well, let’s
just say you are much quicker on your feet than I.”

“Understood. And you
know I don’t mind helpin’, doc.”

“I knew you
wouldn’t.” The doc smiled up at Dodger for a brief moment before turning his
attention to the young man. “Now, Henry, you go to the middle there, and wait.
You shouldn’t come to any harm. Just hold still and let the device attract the
aircraft to you.”

“Okay,” Henry said
and trotted off to the middle of the field.

“Young Sarah and
Torque and I will watch from the Rhino. That will be the safest place.” The doc
grabbed Sarah by the hand and walked her away. “Everyone get into place! It’s time.” He gave a little giggle. “It’s
time. That’s very amusing.”

Boon and Baby
grabbed both ends of the net, and set themselves up at the far end of the
field. Duncan took point behind them, waiting for the aircraft to materialize. Dodger
stood several yards away, his half of the device in hand, ready to activate it.
The doc grabbed his CROSS then settled onto the roof of the Rhino, along with
Sarah. Mr. Torque stood to one side, passively watching the proceedings.

“In your own time,
Mr. Dodger,” the doc said.

Dodger looked down
at the device, drew a deep breath, then flipped the switch.